University of Minnesota Athletics
Preview: Gophers vs. Illinois
3/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2016
| Minnesota (8-22, 2-16) vs. Illinois (13-18, 5-13) - Big Ten Tournament First Round | |
| Date / Time | Wednesday, March 9 | 3:30 p.m. |
| Location | Bankers Life Fieldhouse - Indianapolis |
| Tickets | Click Here |
| TV/Live Video | ESPN2/WatchESPN |
| Radio | ESPN 1500 |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Illinois |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Illinois |
| Social Media | @GopherMBB | Facebook |
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT
Location: Indianapolis, Ind.
Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,165)
TV: ESPN2 - Mike Tirico (Play-by-Play); Dan Dakich
(Analyst), Quint Kessenich (Sideline)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities -
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 177th Meeting (63-113)
Series (Neutral): Sixth Meeting (1-4)
Current Streak: L-2
Richard Pitino vs. Illinois: 1-3
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 735-802
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 18-40
* - excludes vacated games
GAME DAY TID-BITS
• The University of Minnesota men's basketball team opens the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday against Illinois.
• The Gophers are facing the Illini for the third time this season, both decisions won by Illinois.
• Minnesota has lost three straight games, including a 75-52 defeat at Rutgers on Saturday.
• Illinois dropped its season finale, 86-79, in double overtime at Penn State on Sunday and has lost four of its last five games.
• Forward Jordan Murphy was selected among the five best newcomers in the conference, earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team as selected by the head coaches. He is the third Gopher in program history to earn the honor, joining Kris Humphries and Dan Coleman in 2004 and 2005, respectively.
• The Gophers will have just eight available players for Wednesday's game, after senior Joey King suffered a right foot injury against Wisconsin on March 2 and will miss the remainder of the season.
• Head coach Richard Pitino announced the suspension of guards Kevin Dorsey, Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer for the duration of the season for a violation of team rules on March 1.
• The winner of Wednesday's game will face the No. 5-seed Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday at approximately 2:30 p.m. in second round action.
• Freshman walk-on guard Stephon Sharp has started each of the last three games and in that time is averaging 16.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 36.3 minutes of action per game.
• With the victory over Maryland, the Gophers have earned top-10 wins in seven of the last eight seasons.
• The Gophers saw five players reach double figures on Feb. 23 against Rutgers for the fourth time this season and the second time in Big Ten play (Omaha, South Dakota, Michigan).
• Forward Jordan Murphy was recognized by the Big Ten Conference as its Freshman of the Week on Feb. 22, his second such honor (Dec. 7). Murphy posted his seventh double-double of the year (17 pts/11rbs) in the win over then-No. 6 Maryland. He has nine double-doubles on the season.
Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT
Location: Indianapolis, Ind.
Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,165)
TV: ESPN2 - Mike Tirico (Play-by-Play); Dan Dakich
(Analyst), Quint Kessenich (Sideline)
Radio: Learfield/1500 ESPN Twin Cities -
Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
SERIES INFORMATION
Series: 177th Meeting (63-113)
Series (Neutral): Sixth Meeting (1-4)
Current Streak: L-2
Richard Pitino vs. Illinois: 1-3
Minnesota vs. Big Ten: 735-802
Richard Pitino vs. Big Ten: 18-40
* - excludes vacated games
GAME DAY TID-BITS
• The University of Minnesota men's basketball team opens the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday against Illinois.
• The Gophers are facing the Illini for the third time this season, both decisions won by Illinois.
• Minnesota has lost three straight games, including a 75-52 defeat at Rutgers on Saturday.
• Illinois dropped its season finale, 86-79, in double overtime at Penn State on Sunday and has lost four of its last five games.
• Forward Jordan Murphy was selected among the five best newcomers in the conference, earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team as selected by the head coaches. He is the third Gopher in program history to earn the honor, joining Kris Humphries and Dan Coleman in 2004 and 2005, respectively.
• The Gophers will have just eight available players for Wednesday's game, after senior Joey King suffered a right foot injury against Wisconsin on March 2 and will miss the remainder of the season.
• Head coach Richard Pitino announced the suspension of guards Kevin Dorsey, Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer for the duration of the season for a violation of team rules on March 1.
• The winner of Wednesday's game will face the No. 5-seed Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday at approximately 2:30 p.m. in second round action.
• Freshman walk-on guard Stephon Sharp has started each of the last three games and in that time is averaging 16.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 36.3 minutes of action per game.
• With the victory over Maryland, the Gophers have earned top-10 wins in seven of the last eight seasons.
• The Gophers saw five players reach double figures on Feb. 23 against Rutgers for the fourth time this season and the second time in Big Ten play (Omaha, South Dakota, Michigan).
• Forward Jordan Murphy was recognized by the Big Ten Conference as its Freshman of the Week on Feb. 22, his second such honor (Dec. 7). Murphy posted his seventh double-double of the year (17 pts/11rbs) in the win over then-No. 6 Maryland. He has nine double-doubles on the season.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballHighlights: Gophers 67, Rutgers 72
Wednesday, March 11
Play in Focus: Cade Tyson
Tuesday, March 10
Cinematic Recap: Gophers-Wildcats
Tuesday, March 10
Highlights: Gophers 67, Northwestern 66
Saturday, March 07